The Cincinnati Bengals' Week 5 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals is a must-win game. Joe Burrow knows it. Any realistic Bengals fan knows that the team's hopes of reaching a third straight AFC Championship Game will go out the window if Cincinnati can't beat Arizona. What do our Bengals predictions say about the team's chances of stopping the bleeding and avoiding a 1-4 record?

The Bengals' Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Rams proved to only be a slight reprieve from a disastrous start to the 2023 season. Six days later, Cincinnati suffered its worst defeat of the season, losing 27-3 to the Tennessee Titans. This was the same Titans team that was handed its own 27-3 loss in the week prior. The back-to-back AFC North champions have sole possession of last place in the division.

Arizona also sits alone in last place with a 1-3 record. There's a significant difference between the way the Bengals and Cardinals have played. Expected to be a Super Bowl contender, Cincinnati has been the NFL's most disappointing team. Arizona has dismissed the thought that it was tanking, instead proving to be a frisky opponent for everyone on its schedule. The Cardinals were even somewhat impressive in their 19-point loss against the San Francisco 49ers.

The Bengals are three-point road favorites against the Cardinals at FanDuel Sportsbook. Had the Bengals-Cardinals game been played in Week 1, the betting line would've been closer to a touchdown. Arizona is given a realistic chance to pull off the upset, but Cincinnati is expected to right the ship, at least for a week.

Let's make some bold Bengals predictions for Week 5 against the Cardinals. Note that these are bold predictions. It's unlikely that every prediction will prove to be correct, but they have a better chance of occurring than what the odds indicate.

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2. Bengals QB Joe Burrow will have fewer than 20o passing yards

Burrow's calf injury is still the dark cloud that's hanging over the 2023 Bengals season. Until the quarterback shows that he's healthy and can play like his old self, expect him to continue to sputter. There's been four straight weeks of evidence that Burrow, in his current condition, is a below-average quarterback. It's hard to feel confident that things will change much in Arizona, despite Burrow's optimism in Week 5.

Tee Higgins has missed two days of practice because of a broken rib. Burrow will either be without his No. 2 receiver or Higgins will be on the field and compromised. Cincinnati's offensive line has not played well this season. The Cardinals have already had success against one quarterback who was down a receiver and playing behind a banged-up offensive line. With Brandon Cooks and three starting offensive linemen out in Week 3, the Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott were held to 16 points in a loss at Arizona.

Burrow had 165 passing yards last week. The Bengals quarterback only had 82 passing yards in the season opener. He hasn't thrown for 260 yards in any game. FanDuel gives Burrow -500 odds to throw for at least 200 yards. Those odds are unreasonable high for an injured quarterback who can barely move in the pocket and is averaging 182 passing yards per game.

1. The Bengals will lose to the Cardinals by at least eight points 

The Cardinals could easily be 3-1. They had a fourth-quarter lead against the Washington Commanders in the season opener. In Week 2, the New York Giants needed one of the greatest comebacks in franchise history to narrowly defeat Arizona. There's absolutely nothing fluky about Cincinnati's 1-3 start. The Bengals were shellacked by multiple opponents, failing to score a touchdown in two games. Cincinnati's 27-24 loss against the Baltimore Ravens was more one-sided than the score suggests.

The Bengals simply aren't a good team in Week 5. Maybe that will be different in Week 10 when Burrow has had more time to recover from his injury. As it stands now, Cincinnati has one of the league's worst offenses and a defense that can't carry the load. The Cardinals appear to be well-coached. Josh Dobbs has been a serviceable quarterback, and he has enough weapons to keep Arizona in most games.

Arizona has +144 odds at FanDuel to win straight up. FanDuel gives the Cardinals +430 odds to win by more than 7.5 points. This might be the last chance to fade the Bengals as road favorites this season. If Cincinnati can't beat Arizona, don't expect Burrow and Co. to be laying points away from home anytime soon.

When the Bengals lose, they look awful.  They've lost twice by at least 21 points. Even Cincinnati's last regular-season loss in 2022 came by three scores. Cardinals-7.5 could be a worthwhile bet.